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Posted By Bill Fisher
A friend has some land on which a laundry previously stood. He proposes to build a house on that land.
Where should he go for advice on possible contaminants?
Location = Scotland, but I can translate any English sources to Scottish equivalants.
Many thanks in anticipation
Bill

Posted By Paul Craythorne
Bill,
Obvious source of advise for contaminated land would be the local Environmental Health Dept. who have a duty under the Environment Act 1995 to identify contaminated land within their district.
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) may also have some info depending on the category of site (e.g. SSSI).
Regards,
Paul

Posted By Ian Laber
BOREHOLE
It would not be uncommon for a laundry to have its own borehole for water supply. Contamination could be deep underground and it would be advisable not to build directly over the borehole.

Posted By Knnn
Hello Bill
You dont mention what type of laundry. Small domestic type or large commercial facility. One of the most common problems with laundries apart from the rare use of dyes is the use of dry cleaning agents most commonly comprising chlorinated solvents such as perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene. Non chlorinated solvents such as varsol may also have been used. Depending on storage and disposal practices these materials may have adversely impacted soil and groundwater on the property. The chlorinated solvents are of particular concern because they are sinkers (sink below the water table) and their intermediate degredation products may be even more toxic that the parent contaminant (i.e. Vinyl chloride). These materials all represent a hazard to human health and safety from drinking contaminated water and inhalation of vapours which may acumulate in building basements, foundations etc.
Other lessor problems include grease and oil disposal/dumps on the site. Common environmental problems associated with many commercial operations include asbestos debris on the property and potential contamination from historic fuel storage systems/facilities, i.e. underground and above ground tanks.
I hope this helps.

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